Finally, Snow

It was just recently we received a good amount of snow here in Minnesota just before Christmas, that actually stuck to the ground. It is late in the year for us to finally get any actual snow. The Bernese Mountain Dogs love the snow as always and had their chance to play and lay around in the snow as if it was not even cold.

Sophie

Aspen

With the dogs out enjoying the freshly fallen snow, I also wanted to share a photo of the Christmas tree lot that pops up every year. Just down the hill from where I live is a view of this tree lot displaying lots of beautiful trees this time of year. When the evening comes the lights strung from wooden post to wooden post are electrified and the bulbs glow with this beautiful soft light.

Red Wing, Christmas Tree Lot

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone, may 2016 bring a year full of opportunities and happiness.

5D Mark III and a Trip to The Dog Park

  It is finally here, I've waited over a month after I ordered the camera to receive it, due to it being recalled and the long pre-order list. I now finally have my 5D Mark III. I've been waiting for this camera to be announced in the beginning of the year and it wasn't until the week after my birthday that it was announced by Canon. After having my Canon 30D for over 6 years, a 1.6x APS-C crop sensor camera body. I have been through a lot with that camera and have taken it across the country from Washington D.C., Texas twice, and Colorado. When I was in Washington D.C. I went with my classmates from the MSU Reporter to the Lincoln Memorial at night in the pouring rain. Luckily I had a rain covered camera bag, but that couldn't keep the body dry enough when I took it out too shoot. After that the shutter button on it has never been the same. Now that I have a back up camera body I will be able to part with it and send it in to get the shutter button repaired.

Canon 5D Mark III

   First off this camera feels so great in my hands, the ergonomics of it are fantastic. In fact the overall feel of the camera is outstanding, from the battery door to memory card door and the soft touch grip of the camera, it just has a better build to it. This is all exciting to me because I am coming from a Canon 30D. The new auto focus system with 61 AF points compared to my 9 point AF of the 30D are in no way equal. 99.9% of the time I use the center focus point which is the fastest functioning AF point. When I picked it up and set sights on our Bernese Mountain Dog Aspen, the 5D Mk III just nailed the focus on his eyes even in a dark room. Compared to my 30D it search for seconds to find something in a dark room and a dark subject.  That improvement alone amazed me. The image quality output and large rear LCD are beautiful.

   I am very excited to be shooting with a full frame (35mm) digital camera and look forward to taking more photos and sharing them with everyone. Check out a few photos below I shot the first day I received the camera. All the photos were shot with a 24-70 L f/2.8 . I will be spending a few weeks just trying to figure out all of the custom functions and play around with making videos as well.

  My future posts may consist of reviewing the camera and answering any questions people have for me. Please leave your comments and questions below. Thanks!

   Of course Aspen had to be my first model.

Aspen

2 Puppy Old English Bull Dogs at the North Rochester Dog Park

A boy throws Frisbee at the dog park in the late afternoon